After a decorated collegiate career, Andrew Billings believes that his explosiveness will give him a competitive advantage in the 2106 NFL Draft.
As one of the top prospects in the 2016 NFL Draft, Andrew Billings is being compared to someone Redskins fans are already familiar with: Chris Baker.
Billings, a 6-foot-1, 311-pound defensive tackle out of Baylor, prides himself on his strength and explosiveness, both things that he believes give him an edge over the competition.
"For me it's my explosiveness off the ball," Billings said. "Coaches see the explosiveness I have and the motor that I run with. That sets me apart."
His strength was apparent at the NFL Combine, where he was a top performer amongst defensive linemen in the bench press, putting up 31 reps at 225 pounds.
While not the tallest prospect at his position, Billings believes that one of his perceived weaknesses is actually an advantage, allowing him to get underneath larger offensive linemen.
"Leverage is all it is inside," Billings said. "Being I guess, as tall as I am but not as tall as I am, it really helps me out getting underneath them and splitting double teams and drive them back on one-on-ones."
Billings had a highly decorated career during his three seasons at Baylor.
He was named an AP First Team All-American, Co-Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year and All-Big 12 Unanimous First Team during the 2015 season. He was also a finalist for the Bednarik Award, given to the collegiate defensive player of the year, in 2015 and was named 'College Football's Strongest Player' by NFL.com.
During his time playing for the Bears, Billings helped lead the team to two Big 12 championships during arguably the most successful three-year period in Baylor football history.
He finished his career at Baylor with 30 tackles for loss (tied for ninth in school history), 7.5 sacks and had at least one tackle in 35 of his 36 career games.
Check out images of defensive tackle Andrew Billings during his collegiate career at Baylor.
His understanding of the defensive tackle position comes from him playing on the other side of the ball in the past.
Billings played offensive line in high school, and while he admitted that he liked the brotherhood aspect of playing on that line, he was looking for a change.
"Something new, offensive line was always fun for me, but I just saw more love at defensive line," Billings admitted. "I really fell in love playing defensive line."
That passion for the game is something that Billings hopes will help him going forward. He expects to gain a new understanding of the game at the professional level to help establish himself for years to come.
"I envision myself with double the knowledge really, and really playing the game smarter, not harder," Billings said. "I want to be able to get all the tricks the defensive linemen have right now and really use them against offensive linemen who have been playing for 12 years in the league."
.
.
.
